AoT: Deep Bonds
by Jauntues Tigerwolf
Summary: With the threat of extinction, humanity built huge walls around its cities to keep the titans out. While most were all to happy to move in, there were those who chose to stay outside the walls and live in villages on the mountians, keeping their freedom. A character backstory arc for my character, Sereak. Arc is in honor of BluePhoenix34's story, AoT: Black Skies.
1. Chapter 1- Deep in the Forest

**Disclaimer- I do not own AoT, only my OCs.**

**This is a backstory arc for my character, Sereak (Sea-wreck) from BluePheonix34's story AoT-Black Skies. You should read her story, it is amazing!**

-:-

A light, steady breeze blew across the forest, making the tall pine trees sway lazily back and forth. The breeze carried the sharp, minty smell of the pines. Sereak closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell from her perch in one of the tall pines. She opened her eyes, and watched all the trees gently sway like grass on the plains. A hawk flew overhead, a small figure clamped in its talons. Sereak's bright green eyes followed the hawk until it disappeared behind the other trees in the distance. Another breeze blew. Sereak inhaled deeply, she contemplated getting down from her perch and trying to find and follow the hawk to its nest, but a distant voice denied that notion.

"Sereak!" The voice called, seemingly far away, but she knew that it was her father calling from the bottom of the tree. Sereak slowly started to climb down the tree not that she couldn't go down any faster, heck she could jump five limbs at a time, but she wanted to make it last.

Once at the bottom of the tree, Sereak saw her waiting father, two bows and quivers in his hands.

"Your mother is running out of meat to cook, so I thought I'd go hunting. I couldn't forget to bring my young hunting partner with me."

Sereak grinned. It was a small one and probably the closest thing she would get to an actual smile. She didn't smile often, nor did she like the feeling. It made her eyes feel squinty and her face feel fat and squished.

She took her bow and swung the quiver over her shoulder. Her father put his arm around her and together they walked further into the woods.

When her father first suggested the idea of hunting, Sereak's mother refused. She thought it was an offense to the animals living peacefully, saying that they could just buy meat and whatever other produce they needed from the markets inside the walls. Her father agreed and went to the walls immediately. He was gone for several hours, but when he came back, he was outraged. He recited how the wall guards had told him he had to get permission to enter. Living in the mountains so far away from the walls, the guards hadn't trusted him. They even went so far as to call him a spy for some other land. Sereak's mother calmed him, telling him to send for permission the next day. Her father agreed and the first thing he did the next day was write a letter, asking for permission to enter the walls. A whole week went by and there was still no reply. By now even her normally very patient mother had had the last straw. She agreed to let him hunt with his solemn promise to only hunt for the amount of meat the family needed, never for sport.

It was a good thing she had let him, Sereak's father's hunting had saved the family from starvation. It had taken a full month for the reply letter from the government to get to them, only for it to say that no permission was needed to get into the wall! Only an I.D check was needed. Sereak grinned as she remembered the string of profanities her father had said, cursing the wall guards that had given him the false information.

Again, it was her mother who had calmed him. She had placed both her hands on his shoulders and given them a short massage. Her father instantly relaxed and leaned back. Once her mother felt he was calm enough, she would stop the massage and would peck a quick kiss on his forehead. Sereak's father smiled instantly and pulled his wife into a hug. He held his hand out to Sereak and she would join in the family hug.

"I'm sorry hon'." He sighed. "I can't and shouldn't get worked up over this. After all, we lived, and we lived pretty darn well with your grand meals, hon'. Besides we got enough food for us and Lil' Pup here."

Lil' pup. His nickname for her. Given to her the first time she had gotten angry and little fangs had poked out of her mouth. Making her forget her anger instantly and feel the small teeth while her father roared with laughter. "Well, Lil' Pup, looks like I'm going to have to be careful around you." He had teased.

A hand shook Sereak's shoulder, snapping her back to the present.

"Are you all right Lil' Pup?"

Sereak nodded. "Dad, aren't I getting a little old for the name Lil' Pup?"

Her father laughed and ruffled her hair. "Not in the slightest Lil' Pup. You see no matter how old you get, your old father will always be older than you. So you will always me my Lil' Pup."

Sereak mulled it over, the logic was sound and she didn't mind the nickname. "You're not that old dad."

"Well, I'm glad you think so. Lil' Pup."

Sereak grinned for an impressive third time that day and continued to look around the forest thinking of different things, replaying old memories, and so on.

A twig snapped. Sereak snapped out of her daydreams and stiffened. She slowly scanned the area in front of her and to the side. Nothing was there. She looked over to her father; he was slowly turning to look behind them, she mimicked his action. Together they faced the direction of the snapping stick. Sereak scanned the tree line and the floor. A tree branch moved and another branch snapped. She slowly moved her hand to grasp one of the arrows in her quiver, just in case.

A squirrel popped its' head out of the mess of pine needles on the branch. Sereak exhaled, only just now realizing she had been holding it.

"Good thing that wasn't a bear." Her father said. "It's about the time they all come out of their winter dens to feed and fatten back up. Cubs should also be around with their mothers now as well."

Sereak nodded, agreeing. While she loved observing bears and the other animals in the forest, she understood the danger of running into a hungry animal; even worse, running into a hungry mother with smaller mouths to feed.

With the tension lifted, Sereak and her father continued on their hunt. It wasn't until half an hour later, though, that Sereak and her father found what they were looking for, a small herd of deer, feeding in a small clearing.

With practiced ease, Sereak crouched down low and snuck over to a nearly tree. She carefully hoisted herself into a low hanging branch, without making a sound. Sereak climbed up several more limbs until she found the perfect vantage point. She looked down at the small herd. There were five deer in all. Three were doe, a young buck, and an old, proud stag. She decided not to shoot the large buck; he looked strong and handsome, almost guaranteed to produce young as strong and handsome as he. The young buck was out of the question as well; he was still young and had not experienced the wonders of the forest. It would have to be one of the doe.

Sereak observed them carefully. One looked fatter than the others, either she was pregnant or she was just fat. The latter was highly unlikely; the forest animals were never overweight, unless people fed them. If they got their food naturally they would be fat. Sereak ruled the pregnant doe out.

The second looked just as young as the buck, she to hadn't fully enjoyed the wonders of the forest. The third, however, looked about middle aged. She didn't look pregnant; it would have to be her. Sereak sighed and looked for her father. She spied him behind some bushes just a little bit beyond her tree. He was looking at her, waiting to see her choice. Sereak signed a doe, just putting both hands on her head, resembling large ears, then three fingers to represent which doe, and then she pointed her finger at it.

Her father nodded and examined her chosen deer. He turned to her, smiled, and gave a thumbs-up. Sereak nodded and silently readied her bow. She carefully slid an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it into the bow. She steadily drew the bow back and held it, carefully taking aim. Her father gave a small whistle. Instantly all the deer had their heads up, noses quivering. Sereak released her arrow. It flew fast and true, imbedding itself in between the doe's ribs and into her heart. The doe collapsed, dead. A quick and painless death, a good kill.

The remaining dear fled, their tails raised like banners, showing the white flag of danger, their way of announcing to all the animals of the forest to flee. Sereak climbed down from her tree and walked respectfully over to the body. She knelt down in front of the doe.

"I am sorry I had to take your life friend. Your death is not in vain. It goes to feed my family; your body will be treated with respect, never the opposite." Sereak carefully unlogged the arrow from the deer's side. "Thank you for your sacrifice."

She cleaned her arrow on the grass beside her. Her father walked over to the deer side and he too knelt down in front of her and said the same respectful words, thanking her for her life and the meat she would provide his family. He took out his skinning knife and started to skin the deer. Sereak looked up; crows and other scavengers were already circling overhead. They didn't have much time before other, bigger, more dangerous animals came upon the kill.

Her father handed the skin to her, later he would cure it and make it into a blanket or some article of clothing. While they wouldn't need it now, come winter the family would be glad to have it. Her father then started to carve out choice cuts of meat, making sure the meat he got wasn't tough or to stringy. He cut a good sixty pounds, the normal amount for a doe that size. He left the organ meat inside for the other animals. Sereak watched him pull out two bags for the meat from his jacket. After dividing the meat as evenly as he could, Sereak's father handed her one of the bags. Holding her bow in her hand, Sereak accepted the bag and slung it over her left shoulder.

"The rest we leave for the scavengers and other animals." Her father said.

Sereak nodded. There was no need to stay any longer. As they walked away, Sereak looked back at the body. The flying scavengers were already descending and feeding. Her father had often told her that many hunters hated the sight of scavengers feeding off of the kill. This amused and confused her. Why would they be upset? They should already have the meat and skin. There was no reason to go back and scare them away. She believed that the scavengers should be allowed to stay and eat with a free heart, as was natural. With happy hearts and growling stomachs, the pair returned home.

Home, to the Poljor family, was a cabin made from logs, blood, sweat, and tears. To most, it looked nothing more than a small wood house with a stone chimney, not half the size of the homes of those living in the interior. To Sereak, however, it was one of the most beautiful sights and best place to be in the world. In the summer months, it was cool, the perfect place to escape the heat. In the winter, snow covered cabin looked all the more cozy. The sound walls kept the heat in and the bone chilling winds out. The inside of the cabin itself was surprisingly roomy. With four rooms, the cabin was very much so the perfect home for the Poljors.

Once the cabin was in view, Sereak couldn't help but grin. She helped her father take the meat to the smoke house behind the cabin, before heading inside and greeting her mother.

"Hello? Mom we're home." She called out.

"Good." A voice called from the kitchen. "You and your father have perfect timing. It's almost time for dinner.

"Dinner?" Sereak mumbled to herself. She went back to the door and looked outside. Sure enough, the sun was starting sink, a pink and orange tinge colored the sky. She closed the door and walked back inside and went into the kitchen, where her mother was finishing up dinner. Sereak set the table, grabbing plates and eating utensils and placing them on the table in their designated spots.

"Can you go and get your father? I'm just about done with dinner." Her mother asked.

Sereak nodded and wordlessly went outside to get her father. He was still near the smoker, carefully placing the meat inside to it would smoke as evenly as possible. Smoked, the meat wouldn't rot as quickly. He did save some of the meat to put into their cellar. The cellar wasn't in the house, but right next to it. It was a large underground room, cold enough to store meat and not worry about it rotting.

Sereak walked over and tapped her father on the shoulder. "Dad, Mom says that dinner is ready."

Her father put one last side of meat into the smoker. "All right, lil' pup, let's go."

He put his arm around her shoulder and they both walked into the house. The smell of one of their favorite dishes wafted around them. It was duck soup. It took forever to make, but somehow, the cooking master of the house, Teresa Poljor, had kept it hidden from the both of them.

"Come in and close the door. The soup is going to get cold with you just standing there." Her mother smiled.

Sereak closed the door and uncharacteristically, raced to the table. Both her parents smiled and slowly walked to the table. Her mother set bowls in front of them all and filled them with the soup. Nobody spoke; they were all too busy digging into the delicious soup. It was many minutes later when her father broke the silence and spoke.

"The fur business isn't going very well, well deer fur that is. My pelts are only going for three fourths of what it was worth two years ago. The people in the inner walls are starting to move toward fox, minx, and beaver skins. The more exotic, the more they feel they should have it. It's just starting out though. It should take a few more years until the deer skins become out of date."

"What do you plan to do once the pelts aren't worth anything?" Sereak's mother asked.

"Well. I heard that the government is taking old Garrison workers back and letting them work part time I could join up and do that. It pays enough to get us what we need." Her father answered.

Sereak's mother nodded. There wasn't much more discussion after that and it didn't take long for everyone to finish up dinner. Sereak cleared the table and put the dishes in the sink, did her chores, washed up, changed into her pajamas (just a plain grey shirt and long black pants), and went to bed.

Her father came in and hugged and kissed her good night. Her mother came in a second later and sat with Sereak on the bed, a black book in her hand.

"Where did we leave off in the story?" She asked.

"We left off… Oh! We left off where the three magicians came to the town." Sereak answered.

"Ah yes, I remember now." Her mother flipped thorough the book, found the page, and started to read.

-:-

_The three magicians walked through the town on its' main road. The town itself was empty, not a soul in sight The magicians noticed this strange phenomenon, but at the same time they felt the hot sensation of many eyes roaming over them, evaluating them. They suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and turned around. In the center of the road was an old wrinkled man. He stood firmly and started emotionlessly at them._

_"Who are you and what foolishness has made you come here?" The old man croaked._

_The three magicians looked at each other, the middle and oldest of them stepped forward._

_"We are the Traveling Magicians from the far away city of Merael. The reason for our foolishness, I do not know. After all, one cannot now why an action is foolish without knowing why."_

_The elder grinned toothlessly. This magician was clearly very wise. "You have not heard of this village or the horror its very name provokes? Hm, it is a bit surprising, after all this is the village of Dethoa."_

_The youngest magician looked startled "The village of Dethoa! That means the tyrant king-"_

_The elder's eyes flashed. " Yes, the tyrant king, King Malvus the Cruel, resides here."_

_The oldest magician rounded on his young companion. "What do you know of this village?"_

_The young magician gulped. "It is rumored that King Malvus the Cruel, is a tyrant over his people. He forced all the females of his village, whether they be wife, mother, child, or infant, to come to his castle and be put into a paradise like forest. But it was a trick, every weekend he would go on a hunt in the forest. Not for deer or the normal quarry, but for the trapped females in the forest."_

_"What happens if they are caught?" The second magician whispered, he was the most creative out of the three._

_The young magician shivered. "It would depend. If he favored the looks of the captured female, he will…he will force her to bear his children, as if to prove he is the father of them all. If he didn't favor them, they are toyed with, and then killed."_

_"And when you say toyed with, you mean tortured?" The oldest magician sighed._

_"Yes sir."_

_"What if they women escape? Can they not run back to their family and run away? Maybe even start a family of their own somewhere else?" The creative magician asked._

_"No." The youngest whispered. "The females are hunted down, especially if they escape. Even if they did manage to get away, they cannot have any children. You see all the men have had their genitals cut off. They are still able to perform bodily functions, though."_

_The oldest rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We must help these people. It is unnatural what this 'king' is doing."_

_"How are you going to help us?" A voice croaked behind them. They all turned and faced the elderly man. "How are you going to help us?" He repeated._

_The oldest continued to rub his chin. "How many of the men know how to fight?"_

_"All of them. We were all trained to serve in the king's army if need be. We still have the weapons and armor as well."_

_"Why haven't you tried to kill the king yourselves?" The youngest magician asked._

_The old man stiffened. "Like you, the king has magic. He also has a loyal army, believe it or not. We have tried many times in the past, all attempts have failed. The would-be assassins would be gone for two whole months, and never seen until later. They would always be in the middle of town, strung up on pikes for all to see. We are not so weak that we didn't try to kill the king."_

_"Please forgive me question." The young magician apologized. "I had no intention to offend."_

_The old man waved his hand as if it were nothing._

_The creative magician stroked his stubble. "How many able-bodied men do you have?"_

_The elderly man smiled another toothless grin. "Follow me."_

-:-

Sereak's mother closed the book. "And that is the end of another chapter."

"One more?" Sereak pleaded. This particular book was a new book. Her mother had found it and Sereak wanted to hear the end. The rest of her mother's books she knew by heart.

"No, I can read it tomorrow." Her mother smiled.

"But mom, how are the magicians going to convince the people to rebel? How are they going to start the Black Rebellion?" Sereak asked, trying to tug at her mother's curiosity and get her to read another chapter.

It didn't work. "We can read all about that in the days to come. After all, we have as many days as we want to finish this book."

Sereak sighed, nodded, and wiggled under her covers. Her mother kissed her on the forehead good night, turned off the kerosene lamp and left the room. Even so, Sereak lay awake in her room listening for her favorite lullaby.

Sometimes the owl would lead with doleful hoots, other times the fox would, with loud screams and yips. But most of the time, it was the wolves that lead, with long mournful or cheerful howls. They were Sereak's favorite.

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance. A fox screamed and the crickets chirped. Then she heard it. One long mournful howl, soon joined by two, then three, then five more. The wild choir of the forest was warming up and about to sing. Sereak always stayed up to hear it, after all the same song was never sung twice.

The choir started to sing. The song played out with a series of long sad howls, then a short high pitched yip, and then several low hoots. Then the wolves took the stage, taking over the whole show with a series of heart pounding high howls and spine chilling low, long howls. Then a crescendo of synced high and low howls filled the air, continuing over a d over. Then it stopped. With that the chorus was over, all was silent, with the exception of the still chirping crickets. Sereak breathed in deeply, snuggled under her covers, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

-:-

**Jauntues- As I stated above, at the very beginning, this is a story arc for BluePheonix34's story AoT: Black Skies. A huge thank you as well to BluePheonix for letting me make up the story for the "book" The Black Rebellion. You who haven't read Pheonix's story should go read it right now, like right now...what are you still doing here?**


	2. Chapter 2- Wild Wood

**Disclaimer- I do not own AoT/SnK. I only own my OCs and the story plot.**

**Chapter 2- Wild Wood**

The content of the last chapter occupied Sereak's thoughts as she lay on her stomach in the middle of a small meadow of flowers. Everywhere around her bees lazily hummed from flower to flower. Butterflies occasionally landed and delicately sipped nectar from their selected flower, but then quickly flew away. Everywhere around her, animals openly enjoyed the first relaxing days of spring. Bright breasted birds boisterously chipped their cheery songs; squirrels chased each other around the flowers and raced each other up trees. A small grass snake slithered out to enjoy a nice sun bathe. Even the flowers would dance in the slightest hint of a breeze. It seemed as of the only thing not moving, was Sereak herself.

She finally did move, only to roll over into her back and look at the sky. White puffy clouds moved slowly across the sky. Sereak sighed and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She looked for a bee and considered following it back to its hive, but decided against it. For one, it was only the first few weeks of spring; the honey wouldn't be as plentiful (nor as sweet) as in the fall. Over that time the honey would "mature" and taste like heaven. Another thing, she didn't have a bee suit or something that would produce smoke to calm the bees. So, Sereak got up and wandered around the small area aimlessly. She looked to her left; beyond the trees there was a small path, a path made be her many trips to this spot, which lead back to the cabin. To her right was large part of the forest she hadn't really explored before. Even when she was in this small meadow, she was at most only a mile away from home, to go even deeper would be unwise, but an adventure. The anxiousness for the next chapter gone, Sereak picked a dozen flowers and walked to the edge of the unexplored territory.

Walking in several steps, she dropped a flower on the floor. It stuck out against the dirt and the grass. Satisfied, Sereak continued on dropping flowers every other yard she went. Once the flowers ran out, she looked back and checked her progress… she had only gone about thirty feet. Sereak sighed and rolled her eyes at the dumb idea. She looked around for a decent tree to climb to get a good view of her surroundings. She chose a huge pine tree, several yards taller than all the rest. Branch by branch, Sereak boosted herself up the tree. Once near the very top, she looked all around. Behind her, the small multi-colored meadow of flowers was visible. In front of her, large expansions of threes went as far as the eye could see. To the east, however, there was a large cliff like rock. It didn't look more than two miles away and it looked tall enough to be another good vantage point to view more of the area. The way over there was full of trees, and what looked like many small boulders to climb.

Looking forward to the challenge though, Sereak climbed down the tree and walked in the direction of the rock. The fun part being that there was no defined path or trail to follow. Nor were there any familiar land marks she would often use to make sure she was in the right place. This section of the forest looked untouched and unexplored. Every once in a while, however, Sereak would climb a tall tree to make sure she was going in the right direction.

Along the way to the rock, there were no signs of life. No rabbits hopped away at her passing, no birds fluttered about, or even chirped. Sereak's eyes carefully scanning every bush, tree, rock, branch, and small patch of grass. Nothing moved, well then again, it seemed that there was nothing there what was able to move. Sereak closed her eyes and took a deep breath; there was no smell of fear, no trace of anything. Was there really nothing here? How was that even possible? Opening her eyes, Sereak's scowl deepened, none of this made any sense. There had to be some animal around. Not a hundred yards away there was the small meadow abundant with life. Sereak shook her head and moved on, continuing to scan the forest around her.

It wasn't much longer until she did reach the rock. The rock wasn't really a rock, it was more many rocks. They were "stuck" together and, from the distance, it looked like one big rock. Up close it looked like a small cave. Sereak looked around, suddenly, something scrapped against a rock. Her head snapped toward the direction of the noise. When she found out what had made the sound, she froze.

In front of her was the most beautiful, yet the most deadly, animal she had ever seen. A gray wolf, its' brilliant gold eyes intensely stared into her sharp green ones, lips peeled back in a snarl. It stood a short ways away from a small cave carved into the rock, a den. Fangs gleaming, the wolf growled a small rumbling from deep in the belly, but a clear warning all the same. Wolves were notorious for fiercely protecting their dens, even if it cost them their life, but Sereak couldn't tear her eyes away. She stood there, frozen, her brain screamed for her to run, yell, hop up and down, to do something, but her muscles were set at a stand-still. The wolf slowly started to circle around her, coming closer with each spiral; lips still peeled back, revealing sharp, white teeth.

Sereak's brain finally got a message through to her muscles. She knelt down on her knees in front of the wolf. The wolf stopped growling, seemingly puzzled. A human using the body language of a wolf, the concept was entirely strange to it.

Sereak used her hands to mimic wolf ears, laying them flat against her head, a behavioral message saying, "I mean you no harm, I submit to you."

The wolf kept its' lips peeled back, but it didn't growl. Sereak slowly crawled forward, getting closer and closer to the wild creature; her green eyes still holding the gaze of the golden ones. She swiftly pat the wolf right underneath the muzzle. The wolf suddenly reared back, now extremely puzzled and curious as to how this human child seemed to know the language of the wolves. The signs the human had just used were pack member signals, meaning that they submit and the expression for love. The wolf raised its head, hearing something the human child couldn't, and then it ran back into the cave.

Sereak blinked and stared at the spot where the wolf had disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Mesmerized, she stood up straight, still facing the cave just in case the wolf came back out, and slowly walked away. Once she felt far enough from the cave she turned around and broke into a jog, then a full run, not stopping until she had reached the meadow. Breathing deeply, sweat beaded on Sereak's forehead. She stood there, the image of the golden eyes still seared into her memory.

A twig snapped, no not a twig, the sound was more a groan than a snap. Was it a falling tree? Another groan echoed through the forest. Then a slight rumble shook the floor. Sereak stiffened, the shaking got stronger and stronger. She ran to the nearest tree she could get to and hid behind it. There was only one thing that could possibly be the cause of the empty forest, the trees being uprooted, and the shaking.

A titan.

Sereak's legs started to shake, though she had never seen one before, she had heard the gruesome stories about how they had, single-handedly, almost been the cause of the extinction of the human race. All the stories told about how the titans just came and started eating people and how they destroyed houses, towns, and anything that harbored humans inside of it. Sereak peeked around the tree, the shaking stopped. Eyes scanning the meadow and the forest beyond, Sereak waited and prepared herself as best as she could to see a titan. All the while, her heart thudded faster and louder.

A hand descended from above her, Sereak didn't scream, but instead dove behind another tree. The hand tore the tree from the ground. Its roots were heaved up as well. The roots were a good yard or two yards long, and yet the giant humanoid made it look as easy as picking a ripe carrot. The titan's hand brought the tree up to its face to inspect, next to its face the tree looked like a mere toothpick.

The titan looked thirty-five meters tall. A male… if you could call it that, considering that it had no privates. Its face was pulled into an idiotic grin, but its eyes were covered by long locks of unkempt hair. It examined the tree and looked around, probably looking for her. It soon lost interest, though, and dropped the tree with a loud thud, got up, and walked away.

Seeing the humanoid lumber off, Sereak got up and ran. She ignored her lungs and legs when they start to burn and ache and ran the whole mile back to the cabin. She burst inside the house and ran into the living room, where she found her mother hemming some shirts. Sereak embraced her mother tightly.

"Sereak, Sereak, what's wrong? You're shaking like a leaf in the wind." Her mother asked.

Sereak continued to shake. "In the forest, just a little past the flower meadow, I found a wolf den, I think. But then after I left I saw one."

"One what?"

Sereak shuddered. "A titan."

Her mother stiffened and held Sereak away from her. "A titan? How big? Where was it headed?"

"Yes, it was about thirty-five meters tall. It headed east from the meadow, toward the wolf den. Not the house." Sereak answered. "We have to go see if they are alright and-"

"The wolves and animals will be fine, dear." Her mother interrupted. "Titans don't eat animals. I am worried about Old Sendri, though." She saw Sereak's confused expression. "Old Sendri is a… wise woman of sorts. She lives deeper in the forest. She lives a little ways from the den you were talking about. We should go see her now."

"But the titan-"

"I heard what you said before. The second we see any titan we will turn around and go straight home." Her mother ran to the front door and grabbed a green scarf off of the coat rack. "Your father already took the horse and cart into the city to sell off the pelts, so we'll have to walk."

Sereak didn't argue and followed her mother out of the cabin, not before writing up a quick note for her father.

There were no trails that lead to Old Sendri's home; it was all up to her mother to lead the duo through the forest. This didn't worry Sereak at all. Her mother had grown up in these mountains, if anyone knew how to get anywhere on the mountain or in the forest, it was Teresa Poljor.

Her mother kept at a brisk pace, not slowing, but not speeding up either. Sereak followed dutifully by her side, keeping a sharp look out, not only around them, but above them as well. You could never be top careful. After all, a titan's hand could snatch you up just as easily as the titan just leaning over and swallowing you without the use of its hands. Either way you would be able to look Death straight in the face.

About twenty minutes into the brisk-paced walk Sereak's legs started to ache again. She wondered if they would reach the wise woman's house before her legs detached themselves from her.

"Not far now, only about five more minutes." Her mother comforted, as if reading her mind.

Sereak didn't say anything, there was no point in wasting breath, and kept up the grueling pace. True to her mother's word, though, they arrived at the home of Old Sendri.

The home was a cabin; much like the Poljor family's, but much smaller. At most it looked like the cabin had only three rooms. Pelts of animals were stretched across the walls of the cabin, probably to provide better insulation. There was a chimney, suggesting a fireplace inside.

"This is Old Sendri's home, but you must call her Ms. Sendri, understand?" Sereak's mother asked.

"Yes mom." Sereak answered.

"Alright." Her mother walked up to the door of the cabin. "Stay close to me, I haven't seen Sendri in a while, she may not remember me."

Sereak shuffled nervously, but agreed to stay close. Her mother knocked on the front door three times. A few seconds later, the door was opened by Old Sendri.

Old Sendri was indeed old. Her skin was wrinkled and worn from her many years working in the sun. Her hair was a mix of silver, grey, and white hair. Her face though was that of a kind person, having the look of a kindly grandmother. Her eyes, however, were partially filmed over with a white haze. That didn't interfere with the worldly gaze the old woman seemed to have.

"Hello Sendri, it has been a long time." Sereak's mother greeted respectfully.

"Teresa? Yes, it has been a long time. I feel another person stands nearby, who might this young spirit be, your daughter?"

"Yes, my only. Her name is Sereak." Her mother introduced.

"Hello Ms. Sendri." Sereak greeted politely.

The old woman grasped her hand and shook it. Sereak was surprised. Old Sendri cackled. "I still have a few more good years of sight left in these old eyes, child. Ah, you still wear the scowl on your face. I know because I was helping your mother birth you." Her eyes had a faraway look as she remembered.

"You wore the same scowl when you calmed, as if mad at the world that you had been pushed out of the warmth and protection of your mother. Of course, I was much younger at the time. Oh, but where are my manners, keeping you out. Come inside, I have a kettle on the stove."

Sereak and her mother filed inside the small cabin. The interior of the cabin was quaint. Sereak had been correct in her assumption that the cabin only had three rooms, but one of the rooms alone showed many treasures from the forest and, possibly, beyond. On the walls there were long multi-colored braids of hair, seemingly made from different colored horse hair. Dream catchers hung from the ceiling and on some of the walls. They were made from dyed leather and feathers from many different kinds of birds, some even had small smoothed stones woven in the center web of the dream catchers.

A wood flute was mounted in the wall, two hooks held it in place. The flute was covered in black smears and lines. Sereak took a step toward the flute and looked closely. The smears and lines were not meaningless. They actually were a part of a beautiful scene of a wolf den with all the members of pack around it. Pups were tumbling over one another, playing, while their elders watched over them, but two wolves stood at the top of the den, watching over them all.

There were no chairs in the cabin, instead there were mats laid out on the wood floor. Sereak and her mother sat upon one of the mats while Old Sendri poured tea into cups for the three of them.

"Now what brings you so far into the forest?" Old Sendri asked.

Sereak looked to her mother, her mother nodded.

"I saw a titan; it was by the flower meadow. Then it headed toward the wolf den and your home."

Old Sendri stopped mid-sip of her tea. "A titan." She said spitefully. "There hasn't been one this far in the forest for many, many years."

"I did see one, though, it was-"

"I believe you, child. Oh, no don't think for a second I don't, you have my complete trust in this matter. It's just… just-"She sighed. "I can remember a time when humanity didn't have to worry about those beasts. They only had to worry about the threat of each other."

"A time without titans, Ms. Sendri?" Sereak questioned.

Old Sendri nodded. "Believe it or not, there was such a time. With no titans around humans were free to roam the world and travel as they pleased. There were no walls around the cities, families could go on hikes in the forest, go to swim lakes and pools, or even just walk along the beach and surf in the ocean."

"What is 'the ocean'" Sereak asked curiously.

"The ocean? The ocean is a vast body of water, salt water to be exact."

The whole time, Sereak pondered what the elderly woman had said. Was there really such a thing as a giant body of salt water? Had there really been a time when titans didn't plague the earth? That kind of a world seemed to be too good to be true.

"It does exist, young one, just as how these forests exist. Nobody can remember, though, it has been a long time since anyone has spoken, seen, or even read about it. If I remember correctly, the government within the walls has banned the reading of the books that tell of the old world. It was one of the reasons why I left the city." Old Sendri continued bitterly.

"Have you seen a titan pass by here, though?" Sereak's mother asked.

"No, I have not. It must have changed direction and headed off somewhere else." Old Sendri sighed.

Silence ensued. Only the clinking of tea cups broke it. After a couple more minutes, Sereak's mother announced that they shouldn't intrude much longer and be on their way. Old Sendri had refused and said that it was no trouble, but her mother insisted. The elderly woman had graciously thanked them for their concern and their company and went with them to the front porch. Both parties said their good-byes. Sereak even gave Old Sendri a rare grin when she turned and waved good-bye.

Since there was no urgent need to get home, Sereak and her mother walked slowly back to their cabin. Both of them said nothing, they enjoyed the silent moments and used them to listen to the nature around them.

"A bird that only hears his own kind's voice is a stupid bird." Her mother had told said to her once.

It was nightfall when the pair reached the cabin. Sereak's father was already home and had prepared dinner for them. It was venison-steak and some mashed potatoes; a simple, but filling and delicious meal. Afterwards, Sereak did all her chores, washed up, and was soon in bed, waiting for her mother to begin the next chapter of the story.

"Are you ready?" Her mother asked.

"Yes, read on." Sereak said enthusiastically.

-:-

_The old man led the tree magicians down the dirt road they had been traveling on. Each house they passed, men looked out of the windows and door, curiously, and then they would disappear, only to reappear behind them. The old man never looked back, he only walked forward. The wisest and the most creative magician copied his action and didn't look back. The youngest magician was a different story._

_Every time they passed a house, the youngest magician would glance behind them and see the group of men following them slowly grow in number. _

_At last, when they finally stopped at the end of the road, the old man and the magicians turned completely around. Behind them, over fifty men strong, there were only about twenty elderly men, not as old as the elder leading them however, and some maybe ten small boys._

"_These are all the men in the village?" The wisest magicians asked._

_The elder nodded. "My fellow townsmen," He announced. "These men are magicians! They say that they will help us kill King Malvus the Cruel!"_

_The youngest magician expected great cheers of excitement and joy, but he was instead greeted with silence. All the men's eyes were trained on the tree magicians. Nobody moved for several minutes. _

_Finally someone spoke up. "They can't help us, no one can!" There were murmurs of agreement throughout the crowd._

"_Why do you say so?" The creative magician asked quietly._

_The utter calm in his voice quieted the whole crowd, again leaving them to stare. "Why?" The voice spoke again. "I say so because it's the truth. Others have come and promised to help. They didn't help us at all, they just helped themselves to our food and hospitality and after that all they did was get themselves and countless others killed! What makes you three any different?"_

_This time the wisest magician spoke up. "We are not different from the others. Save the fact I may be very much older than them" He added jokingly. "But other than that I can't say we are much different than others who have come here."_

_The crowd of men once again began to whisper amongst themselves. _

"_However," the wisest magician continued, "we have one major difference. We do this because we want to help you. We do this because we feel that you should be free, not to gain free food, fame, or fortune. We do this because we think it is the right thing to do."_

_At this point all of the villagers we listening with undivided attention. Nobody spoke, moved, or even blinked. _

_The elder looked up at the wisest magician. "Well, it seems that you have their attention. Would you care to explain your plan to us?"_

_The wisest magician said nothing. The creative magician turned to the elder, "Does your village keep the weapons and armor that you can access. You said yourself that you all know how to fight."_

_The elder bid them to follow him. The magicians asked no questions and followed, the crowd of men following behind them._

_The elder led them all out of the small village and into the nearby forest. They didn't travel very far into it, just a few yards in, when they came upon a large house. The elder explained that to go any further meant death. The king had placed enchantments that would detect any one who went pass and he would be immediately alerted. People could enter this village, but not leave it. _

_The elder produced a key from somewhere on his person and unlocked the door to the house. The door opened with a groan. Sunlight flooded the room, revealing rows and rows of dust covered armor and weapons. The elder ushered the magicians inside. The youngest whispered a quick spell. A strong gust of wind blew in the room, taking all the dust off of all the armor and weapons. The wind, however, was gone as soon as it came. It didn't even get a single speck of dust in anyone's eye._

_The men said nothing. After all these men were magicians, spells like this were common, even amongst novice magicians. The young magician studied the armor. "It's old leather and steel, but it's in good condition. There is very little hint of rust anywhere."_

"_How about the weapons?" The creative magician asked._

_His young companion quickly walked over to all the weapons racks. He picked up a swords and examined its edge, then skillfully sliced the air in front of him. _

"_They're all okay, nothing a good cleaning and a whet stone won't fix."_

"_Good, now I want all of you to hear me." The creative magician said. "I need all of you to take these weapons and armor and give them the attention they need. I want them all taken care of by tomorrow morning. I have a plan."_

-:-

And with that, the book was closed and Sereak was left wondering what would happen next.

"Are you ready for bed now?" Her mother asked.

"Only if you read the rest of the book." Sereak said, jokingly.

Her mother smiled and hugged Sereak. "Will you be alright? I know you were very afraid and upset when you saw the titan."

"I'll be okay. I don't think it is going to come this way. The forest will protect us better than the walls around the city."

Her mother's brows furrowed. "How so?"

"The animals will protect us. The titans don't attack the animals. The more connected we become to them, the less danger we are in, because the animals will protect their family." Sereak said wisely.

Her mother laughed. "You're starting to sound like me."

Sereak grinned. Her mother kissed her forehead. "Good night, Sereak."

"Good night mom."

Her mother turned off the lamp and quietly left the room.

Sereak waited.

An owl hooted, and right on cue, a fox barked, but then it was quiet. Something wasn't right.

Silence.

Sereak waited and waited, until finally a single howl rose into the air. It was a howl for song, however. It was a howl of frustration and fear. It was a howl for a precious secret found out.

At that moment, Sereak wished that she hadn't found the den the wolves held so dear. Similar howls rose into the air. Sereak felt her stomach churn. Tomorrow she needed to see the wolves; she needed to know that she would never give away their precious secret.

**Hey, second chapter up. I'm trying to crank out the chapters on time with BluePhoenix's story. I hope you guys all liked this chapter. I'm not for sure, but I am thinking about accepting some OCs. I don't know whether or not I'll need them, but I'm just giving you all a heads up. So if you want to try for an OC just submit one like this. Oh, by the way no OC's from Black Skies will be accepted. They can't be living in the forest with Sereak, but don't worry. I have plans, good plans for the future concerning them. Oh, the character submissions. Well here are the guidelines. **

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Height:**

**Weight:**

**Appearance: Be descriptive. I don't want. She/He is pretty/cute. I want to be able to see them standing next to me. **

**Personality: For this give me the good, the bad, and the ugly. You don't have to have a character with all good characteristics. **

**Fun Facts: Basically stuff you feel I should know about them, but don't go crazy. Just important info will do. **

**All righty then, I think that's it. I'll include and announce the OC's I choose, if I accept some. As of right now I'm probably only going to be looking for two or three. Bye. **


End file.
